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Ted Bundy victim Debra Kent disappears in Utah
On November 8, 1974, 17-year-old Debra Kent leaves a school play at Viewmont High School in Bountiful, Utah, to pick up her brother from a nearby skating rink. When her parents emerge from the theater a short time later, they find Kent's car in the parking lot but no sign of her. She has been abducted by serial killer Ted Bundy, who later murders her.
Earlier that day, Bundy had attempted to abduct 18-year-old Carol DaRonch from a shopping mall in Murray, Utah. Posing as a police detective, he lured her into his car, but she managed to escape.
Kent was taken to Bundy's home in Salt Lake City, where he held her about 24 hours, Bundy later confessed. It is unclear when Bundy began his killing spree, but his earliest widely documented attack occurred about 10 months before the abduction of Kent.
On January 4, 1974, Bundy severely battered and sexually assaulted Karen Sparks in Seattle. In early February, Bundy raped and killed Lynda Ann Healy, his first known murder victim. Before moving to Utah in 1974, Bundy attacked at least seven other women.
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Bundy was sentenced to death in 1979 and spent a decade filing multiple appeals. He eventually confessed to 30 murders, though the number is thought to be higher. Before his execution, Bundy told investigators where he had disposed of Kent's body. Searchers subsequently recovered 10 bags of bones near Fairview Canyon, but only one bone, a human patella, was identified as human. In 2019, authorities announced that DNA testing had confirmed the bone belonged to Kent.
In April 2026, advances in DNA technology conclusively linked Bundy to the 1974 murder of 17-year-old Laura Ann Aime in Utah, a killing he had confessed to before his execution. In October 2026, authorities also announced a DNA match connecting him to the 1974 murder of 17-year-old Melissa Ann Smith.
Bundy was executed by electric chair on January 24, 1989, at the Florida State Prison, where hundreds of people came to cheer.
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Citation Information
- Article Title
- Ted Bundy victim Debra Kent disappears in Utah
- Authors
- Website Name
- History
- Date Accessed
- October 29, 2026
- Publisher
- A&E Television Networks
- Last Updated
- October 29, 2026
- Original Published Date
- October 29, 2026
